Struggling With My Faith: In Desperate Need of Guidance

Answered by Ustadha Zaynab Ansari
Question: I am a born muslim female who lives in America. I wear the hijab. I have hit rock bottom. I barely pray the five daily prayers and I find myself not wanting to listen to anything that has to do with religion. I have been struggling with this problem for quite a while now and I am extremely miserable. Nothing makes sense in my life anymore. I question everything that I thought I believed. Please help me.
Answer: In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful
Dear Sister,
Assalamu alaikum.
Thank you for your question.
Please consider everything that is going on around you. The situation you describe appears to go beyond a detachment from religion and points toward possible clinical depression. Have you thought about consulting with a mental health professional? If normally pleasurable activities (prayer, Qur’an, etc.) are no longer pleasurable, it could be an indication that something else is going on. Also, what are your relationships like? Has someone let you down? How much time are you spending online? There’s a constant barrage of anti-Islam vitriol on the web.
I’m asking these questions because it’s hard to give a clear answer without knowing more about you and your life.
Faith can wax and wane; rarely is it ever a constant. Even the Sahaba, as elevated as they were, were still mortals who dealt with episodes of spiritual uncertainty, low iman, and self-doubt.
The key is to not detach completely. Don’t stop listening to and reading the Qur’an. Don’t stop praying. Don’t isolate yourself from the community. Don’t stop listening to religious advice. If you do, something more fearful might replace these.
The Qur’an is a balm. Prayer is a medicine. Community can be a lifeline. And religious advice can be very centering.
I highly recommend you listen to the SeekersGuidance IslamCast with Shaykh Yahya Rhodus–click here. I listened to it at a very difficult time and it was calming.
May Allah grant ease,
Zaynab Ansari
Checked & Approved by Faraz Rabbani